https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45651739
Gamers meet in real life at bedside of terminally-ill friend
When a member of their friendship group was in hospital receiving treatment for cancer, six men who have been friends for years came together.
However, this was the first time they had been in same room, or even the same state.
They met through online gaming and have forged a friendship that has tied them together.
The image of the friends gathered around Joe's hospital bed in New Jersey has moved many to share similar stories of the meaningful relationships that have begun online.
David Miller, from New Brunswick, Canada, shared the story on Reddit. The 19-year-old said he had met Joe and the others online about five years ago.
"We played pretty much everything," he told the BBC.
"We played all the time. Even if we weren't playing games we would be just hanging out talking about anything."
But this summer the friends discovered Joe, 23, had been diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma. The prognosis was terminal and he now lives in a hospice centre.
"We always had an idea we would eventually meet up, but after finding out that our time was limited we knew we had to do it sooner rather than later," David said.
"We all knew we had to do it."
